You Too Are Responsible For Rape In Our Country And Here's Exactly Why!

India is sexist. And the sad reality is, that the people don’t want to change. Sexism has crept into the roots of our society. Gender policing and defining gender roles, something that seems very harmless, has gone on to rear its ugly head in the form of rape. While people continue to think that sex is the major cause of the rising number of rapes in our country, the truth is much more saddening. It is the fault of each one of us. We all are the culprits of Nirbhaya, of Jisha, of the 19 year old girl in Kerala and of countless other women, who have suffered because of OUR ignorance. WE are the one’s responsible, we are the one’s who have failed these women!

How Are You Responsible For Rape?

This might be a question that might have popped up in all your minds. And here’s why. The fact is that we too are spreading this idea of gender roles and gender policing, directly or indirectly. Ask yourselves these few questions, very honestly. Have you ever found yourself blaming, even though only in your mind, or even verbally, for wearing a dress that is “inappropriate”? Or ever blamed a girl who was being hit by her father? Have you ever thought of a girl to be a ‘slut’ for roaming alone with a bunch of guys? Or ever called a girl “behenji types” and made fun of them?
If yes, then you are pretty much directly responsible for spreading the parasite, that is gender policing. However, if you are amongst the ones who can honestly claim that you have not done this ever, that still doesn’t mean you are not responsible. You are just as much responsible for it, if not more. For a person that doesn’t stand up against rape, is just as much responsible for it! We are the society, so we are the one’s that shape it in the disgusting way, that it has turned out to be!
Now, you might think that these things are very harmless, and how can these be considered as responsible for rape? Now consider this. One of the culprits in the 2012 Nirbhaya Delhi gang rape case made a statement claiming that they raped the girl because she was roaming with a boy at night who wasn’t her brother or father. They were teaching the girl a lesson.
It is this kind of patriarchal mindset, that is being spread throughout the country. Why should there be a certain set of guidelines or boundaries in which a woman is supposed to stay in? Why can’t a girl decide for herself what she wants to be or who she wants to be? The patriarchal nature of our society can also be seen when it indulges in victim blaming.

Victim Blaming

Victim blaming is another common phenomenon that has surfaced since the number of rape cases have skyrocketed. Our society has this tendency of blaming women for the atrocities that are carried out on them. “What was she thinking wearing such clothes at night?” “If you roam around with boys at night, you are asking for it.” “What else can you expect happening to a girl if she is drinking at night?” This is the sad reality of our society.
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